Sponge Farms - New Source of Bounty from the Sea

CUBA: Sponge Farms - New Source of Bounty from the Sea
By Patricia Grogg*

CARAHATAS, Cuba, Nov 30 (Tierramérica) - The ocean punishes Carahatas
every time a hurricane tears through the region. The sea combines with
the flow of a nearby river, and floods the houses with water a metre and
a half deep, or more. Nevertheless, the residents of this Cuban town are
deeply attached to the sea.

"When I go several days without seeing the ocean, I get upset. If a
cyclone comes and tears down the house, as long as one wall is left
standing and I can put up as much as a tent, I'm staying here. And there
are many more like me," said Neldys Vivero, 50, born and raised in this
fishing village on Cuba's northeast coast, in the province of Villa Clara.

In 1985, Hurricane Kate left her parents and many other residents of
Carahatas homeless. They were taken to Lutgardita, a community built
four kilometres away. "Now I go to see them, and I can't stay more than
20 minutes because it is so small, and it's just not for me," she said
in a conversation with Tierramérica.

Estrella Machado, 88, says the reason for her deep love for the sea is
simple: "It's what there is most of. At least when it comes to jobs,
what there is most is fishing."

The "only fisherwoman" in the community until 1985, Machado points out
that "there used to be more fish."

Vivero agrees. She began fishing as a child with Machado and her
husband. "I remember that between the three of us we would pull up a
basket with 40, 50, even 70 pounds (18, 23 and 32 kilograms) of 'pagro'
(red porgy). Today, at the most, you'll find five or six pagros in a
basket," she said.

Most of the 300 families in Carahatas are aware of at least some of the
causes of the decline in marine life. "The big bottom trawlers finish
off the young. We never used the trawler nets. We fished with baskets or
with hook and line," Machado said.

According to Vivero, the bottom trawler technique - and its negative
impacts on undersea vegetation and fish stocks - was introduced in the
area in the 1970s. "We didn't have a clear notion of the harm it was
causing."

A natural community leader who was re-elected many times as citizen
representative for one of the two administrative districts in the area,
Vivero says that most local fishers now recognise how aggressive
trawling is, although it is currently regulated.

Trawlers are used to catch the fish species that gather in undersea
channels and in seaweed beds before they migrate in schools to their
breeding areas. The result is that the fish are caught before they can
reproduce, thus compromising future stocks.

But that isn't the only challenge in Carahatas, which neighbours Las
Picúas-Cayo Cristo Wildlife Refuge, a protected area of 40,250 marine
hectares and 15,720 land hectares.

The liquid and solid waste that the local population dumps along the
coast, as well as deforestation, also affect the marine habitat and are
among the problems to be tackled in a plan outlined by a project
financed by the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility.

Channelled through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
project for the "Alternative Use of Natural Resources in the Coastal
Community of Carahatas" proposes, among other aims, the cultivation of
sea sponges as an employment option for fisherfolk committed to methods
other than trawler fishing.

Felisberto Rodríguez, 45, one of the first local residents to understand
the need for alternatives, explained that the Carahatas fishers never
thought that sea sponges could be farmed. But now that they have seen
the initial results they are just waiting for the farms to be expanded
so they can join the initiative.

Rodríguez worked on the experimental cultivation of two sea hectares in
the effort overseen by Ángel Quirós, an expert from the marine ecology
group of the government's Centre for Environmental Studies and Services
(CESAM) of Villa Clara, 276 km from Havana.

The plan now is to cultivate 12 hectares, which in one year are expected
to yield one tonne of sponges that would sell for more than 15,000
dollars on the international market. According to calculations by
Quirós, the area has the potential for about 15 sponge farms, each run
by two people.

"I already have planted three areas of more than 100 square metres each.
The sea itself provides the 'seed'," said Rodríguez. "Each sponge can be
divided into 30 pieces, and that has to be done in the water. I like to
be in the ocean depths. Sponge growth is slow, but when the harvests
begin, everyone will see the results."

Quirós defends this unique crop as a sustainable, inexpensive and
environmentally friendly option because it does not create pollution,
alter the habitat or produce waste - nor does it suffer the effects of
climate change. Furthermore, he assures that these invertebrates have a
secure market, primarily in Europe.

"The sponges remain submerged even if the sea level decreases or
increases. Because they grow in areas of stronger water circulation,
they aren't affected by fluctuations in temperature. In addition, the
farms create shelters for small organisms and for the offspring of
larger animals," said the marine biologist.

Neldys Vivero admits that in the beginning she didn't see the potential
of sponge farming. But now she is convinced that the Carahatas coast "is
very suitable, with many good sites for this crop," which will provide
employment for many women and men in this small town.

"Interest will increase as the commercialisation begins and expands,"
she said. With stable production, industrial processing of the sea
sponge would turn into a good source of employment for women, according
to Vivero. Here, 67 percent of the women work in their homes, and of
those, "35 or 36 percent are asking for jobs," she said.

The initiative, coordinated by María Elena Perdomo, of CESAM, has
included workshops on environmental education, reforestation, and
proposals for reducing pollution, such as creating a dump outside the town.

It also produced a guide for growing sea sponges and a manual of best
environmental practices in coastal zones.

"We were able to convince people of the importance of taking care of
resources and how to use them in a better way. They also gave us a lot
of information... Now the people feel ownership for what they are
doing," said Vivero.

(*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that
are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news
service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the
World Bank.) (END/2009)

CUBA: Sponge Farms - New Source of Bounty from the Sea - IPS ipsnews.net
(30 November 2009)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49474